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The Creation Myths

[6]The Ennead of Heliopolis, part I - [7]The Ennead of Heliopolis,
part II - [8]Amun, Creator at Thebes"
[9]Ptah of Memphis - [10]The Ogdoad of Hermopolis - [11]Khmun and the
Potter's Wheel - [12]Nit - Creatrix

Ptah of Memphis (Men-Nefer)

_Memphis/Men-Nefer_

Memphis was the ancient capital city of ancient Egypt, situated ca 15
km south of modern Cairo. During the Early Dynastic (3100-2686 B.C)
period and the Old Kingdom (2686-2181 B.C) it was the administrative
center, thought to have been founded by Menes, a ruler of the 1st
Dynasty. The ancient name Men-Nefer might have originated from the
pyramid town which was associated with the pyramid of Pepy I at
Saqqara, with the same name, meaning 'established and beautiful'.
Another ancient name for the city was 'Ineb-hedj', meaning 'White
walls' or 'White Fortress'.

Even though the capital moved to Thebes (Waset) in the new Kingdom,
Memphis did not lose its´ importance, and from this period the Temple
of Ptah is the most clearly evidenced remains.

_Ptah_

_Ptah_, the deity of Memphis, also called 'South of His Wall', lent
his name to the temple: 'Hewet-ka-Ptah' (Mansion of the spirit of
Ptah). Even though not much of it is left to be seen today, it was one
of the largest temple complexes in ancient Egypt at the time of
Ramesses II. Here was the seat of an intellectual tradition whose
priesthood devised a cosmogony trying to outrival the Heliopolitan one
and place Ptah as the originator of all life.

Ptah as creator god was mentioned as early as in the Old Kingdom, when
he was seen as a supreme artisan. His high priest at Memphis was then
called _wer kherep hemw_, 'Greatest of the Controllers of Craftsmen'.
In the Coffin Texts Ptah is described as the one who creates other
gods, makes the vegetation ripen and the sun shine. In the Ramesside
period, Ptah merges with Ta-tenen, which means 'the land which has
become distingushable' (from the primeval waters). This is where Ptah
comes into view as Creator God.

Let it be said at once that ther is much more concerning Ptah than is
the intention of this short article to cover.

According to the Memphite theology Ptah created the universe using his
heart and his tongue. For the ancient Egyptians the heart was the seat
of thought, not the brain. By uttering the name of all things he
brought them into being, as according to Egyptian belief, in the name
lay inherent the essence of a being or a thing. In this way he created
the other gods. The theology of Ptah seems to suggest a synthesis of
the mind and the material world, as the action of the heart and the
tongue dictates the movement of the bodily limbs.

Therefore, according to the priesthood at Memphis, Ptah created even
Atum at Heliopolis, and therefore he was superior to the Ennead and to
the creation myth of Heliopolis. The Ennead was said to be the 'teeth
and lips' of the mouth of Ptah, and so by uttering something, he
brought it into being. Whatever the eyes see, the ears hears and the
nose breathes, goes right into his heart, where it is pondered, and
when it is uttered by the mouth, it comes into being. And when all the
gods are created, Ptah goes on to create cities, sanctuaries, temples,
offerings etc.

_The Memphite Theology and the Shabaka Stone_

The Memphite Theology was probably composed in the late New Kingdom,
after much debate and discussion among the priesthood of Memphis. It
is found inscribed on the _Shabaka Stone_, from the 25th Dynasty,
which supposedly is a copy of an Old Kingdom text. The 'copy' was
ordered by King Shabaka (712-698 B.C), who is said to have found
during an inspection of the temple of Ptah that their most sacred
scroll, which held the description of the ascension of Horus to the
throne of Egypt, was threatened to be eaten by worms. Therefore the
king ordered the undamaged remains of it to be inscribed on a stone of
black granite. The stone is now in the British Museum, but before it
was handed over there, it had been used as a millstone. Recent studies
have placed the origin of the inscriptions, not in the Old Kingdom, as
was earlier thought, but more likely a date in the 13th century B.C.

Below is an excerpt of the Memphite Theology, from Mirjam Lichtheim´s
book 'Ancient Egyptian Literature Vol I'. The translation is made by
J.A. Wilson in ANET, pp 4-6: (the numbers refer to the lines on the
stone)

_This it is said of Ptah: "He who made all and created the gods". And
he is Ta-tenen, who gave birth to the gods, and from whom every thing
came forth, foods, provisions, divine offerings, all good things. This
it is recognized and understood that he is the mightiest of the gods.
Thus Ptah was satisfied after he had made all things and all divine
words.
_
(59)He gave birth to the gods, He made the towns,
He established the nomes,
He placed the gods in their (60) shrines,
He settled their offerings,
He established their shrines,
He made their bodies according to their whishes,
Thus the gods entered into their bodies,
Of every wood, every stone, every clay,
Every thing that grows upon him
(61) In which they came to be.
Thus were gathered to him all the gods and their 'Ka's,
Content, united with the Lord ofthe Two Lands.
_Other Creation Myths:_
[13]The Ennead of Heliopolis, part I
[14]The Ennead of Heliopolis, part II
[15]Amun, Creator at Thebes"
[16]Ptah of Memphis
[17]The Ogdoad of Hermopolis
[18]Khmun and the Potter's Wheel
[19]Nit - Creatrix

Sources:
Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt by R.T. Rundle Clark, Thames &
Hudson, pbk 1993.
Egyptian Myths by George Hart, British Museum Press, 1997.
A dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses by George Hart, 1986
The Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts, transl: R.O. Faulkner, Aris &
Phillips 1973
The Book of Going Forth by Day, transl: George Allen, Univ. of Chicago
Press 1974
The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts, transl: R.O. Faulkner, Clarendon
Press, 1969
Egyptian Religion by Siegfried Morenz, Cornell University Press 1992
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